Ben Jacobs admits Arsenal may now rival Leeds for Mckennie

Journalist Ben Jacobs has insisted that Arsenal are slowly ‘creeping into the conversation’ to land American ace Weston McKennie.

The Lowdown: Arsenal to hijack McKennie deal

Arsenal may well be forced to act this late on in the transfer window due to the injury sustained by Mohamed Elneny, which has now left Mikel Arteta worrying over the centre of his midfield and with fewer rotation options.

The Gunners have indeed been credited with an interest in McKennie, who looks set to leave Juventus amid their off-field issues – but they may need to accelerate their process to beat Leeds United to the signing.

Leeds are said to be moving very quickly when it comes to negotiations with Juventus and McKennie, having already agreed personal terms, while Fabrizio Romano has recently revealed talks with the West Yorkshire side are ‘progressing well‘.

The Latest: McKennie attracting a lot of interest

Jacobs insisted on Wednesday’s edition of The Done Deal Show that while Leeds are moving forward with McKennie, that hasn’t stopped Arsenal from trying to bully their way into the transfer talks with the United States international.

He said: “This one’s going to be really interesting. Leeds have already agreed broad personal terms with Weston McKennie, but nothing is signed.

“Arsenal have crept into the conversation a little bit later, and we know that they would be in the market for a midfielder, for sure – [Mohamed Elneny] is injured and the beauty of Weston McKennie is he that can play almost anywhere, really.”

The Verdict: Edu must seal the deal

It would be a big coup for Arsenal if they were to prise someone such as McKennie away from a European giant and powerhouse such as Juventus mid-season despite their the Turin club’s current woes, as he would only enhance their title bid given his experience at the top level.

If Arsenal start to do more than just creep into the conversation about McKennie, it would surely be a simple decision for him to pick the Gunners – who are on course for a superb Premier League season – over Leeds, as he could end up as a Championship player in a few months’ time.

Therefore, we think Edu has to move quickly, as the claims to emerge since Jacobs’ comments suggest Leeds are favourites to secure McKennie’s signature.

However, we have seen in recent weeks that transfer hijacks are very much in season, and in light of Elneny’s injury issues, McKennie could well be a long-term replacement for the Egyptian midfielder and become a decent deputy for Thomas Partey in the Gunners midfield as well as aid their title charge.